Pregnant or Breastfeeding for 7 years now (Anonymous)

onMonday, March 26, 2007

I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for almost 7 years now. Sometimes both at the same time. I have breastfed for a total of 46 mos. and still going…I have 3 children ages 6,4 and 18 mos old. I have been a fan of this site for some time and have wanted to get up enough courage to post. I love reading the stories here. I have always had a round tummy, even at my smallest. As far back as I can remember, I have never really liked my body. Even at a size 4, I was consumed by it’s imperfections. Only when I have been pregnant have I felt beautiful. Finally, there was a reason that my tummy was round. I was no longer ashamed of it, but now it was my pride. The bigger my tummy got, the happier I was. The pregnancy pic here is of my 2nd pregnancy at 7 mos. My son was 10 lbs. at birth. My 3rd child was almost 9 lbs. My tummy really got a work-out during those pregnancies. Soon after birth, I realized that I was ashamed again. My tummy was sagging, stretched out, and marked. But now it was much worse. I wonder why I ever complained back when I was so small. I guess through all of this I have realized that happiness does not come from achieving a specific pants size, but rather from the feeling of completeness when you hold those babies in your arms for the first time. The other pic is of my body now. Seven years after the metamorphosis began. I get asked all of the time when I am “due.” It is very embarassing. There should be a law against asking women that! LOL!

One of my favorite quotes by Dave Barry (I *love* Dave Barry lol) is something along the lines of, “You should never ever mention pregnancy to a woman unless you can see a baby coming out of her right at that minute” LOL